Update on the Latest Programs and Events in Your Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section

• Pages: 10-11
• Date: 01 January 2026
• Published date: 01 January 2026
• Subject Matter: Derecho Público y Administrativo

10 THE BRIEF ❭Winter 2026

TIPS Notes

PUBLISHE D IN THE BRIEF, VOL UME 55, NUMBE R 2, WINTER 20 26. © 2026 BY T HE AMERICAN BAR ASSO CIATION. REPR ODUCED WITH PERMISSION . ALL RIGHT S RESERVED. THIS INFORMAT ION OR ANY

PORTION T HEREOF MAY NOT BE COPI ED OR DISSEMINAT ED IN ANY FORM OR BY AN Y MEANS OR STOR ED IN AN ELECTRO NIC DATABASE OR RE TRIEVAL SYS TEM WITHOU T THE EXPRES S WRITTEN C ONSENT

OF THE AMERIC AN BAR ASSO CIATION.

Fidelity and Surety Midwinter Conference

The Fidelity and Surety Midwinter Conference was held

January 21–23, 2026, in Washington, D.C., at the JW

Marriott, attracting close to 550

attendees, including a record

number of 25 former chairs

of the Fidelity and Surety Law

Committee! The conference

explored risks, claims, and

complexities across construction,

fidelity, and surety. Thank you

and hats o to Bruce Corr iveau,

his planning committee, the

Fidelity and Surety Law Com-

mittee, and the TIPS sta for

putting together a tremendous

conference! Congratulations

to Seth Mills for receiving the

Martin J. Andrew Award for

his lifetime achievement in

fidelity and surety law and to

Janet Hummons, who received

an honorary Martin J. Andrew

Award for her contributions

to the Fidelity and Surety Law

Committee. Thank you both for your leadership and signifi-

cant contributions through the years.

ABA Midyear Meeting Recap

TIPS Council, standing committees, task forces, and Leader-

ship Academy met for very productive meetings at the 2026

ABA Midyear Meeting in San Antonio, with over 30 business

meetings and spirited and well-attended social events, includ-

ing a membership outreach event on Thursday evening and

TIPS usual Saturday evening networking reception.

We were delighted to present Professor Robert Burns

with the prestigious Robert B. McKay Law Professor Award

at the Saturday networking reception. The award recognizes

law professors who show a commitment to advancing justice,

scholarship, and the legal profession by contributing to the

fields of tort, trial practice, or insurance law.

Burns i s the Wi llia m W. Gurley Memoria l Professo r of

Law at Nort hwestern Un iversity P ritzker S chool of Law,

where he teaches evidence and professiona l responsi bility

in the Ba rtlit Center for Tria l Advocacy, alon g with

civil, crim inal, and adm inistrative proced ure. He has

won the Robert C hildre s Memoria l Award for Teaching

Excellence t hree ti mes and the

Dean’s Teaching Award tw ice,

and was n amed Outs tandin g

Professor of a Smal l Class . He

is author of A Theory of the

Tri a l ( Princeton), Ka fka’s Law:

The Trial and Am erican C riminal

Justice (Chicago), and T he Death

of the Amer ican Trial (Ch icago),

which received a Choice Out-

standi ng Academ ic Title Award

in the Soc ial and Behaviora l

Sciences. Bu rns ha s also w ritten

student tex ts; workbook s in

evidence, profe ssional re sponsi-

bility, and tria l advocacy ;

and numerous article s and

book chapters .

We were pleased to welcome

many illustrious speakers who

presented to the Leadership Academy, including the Hon-

orable Julie Kocurek, former ABA President Robert Grey,

former Texas State Bar President Steve Benesh, former

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice and Professor Penny White,

renowned author Mark Curriden, ABA President Michelle

Behnke, and ABA HOD Chair Jonathan Cole.

2025–2026

Leadership Academy

Class with Professor

Penny White (fifth

from right) and

Mark Curriden

(far left). Photo by

Gail Ashworth.

Section Leadership Nominated for FY 2026–2027

The following slate of ocers for fiscal year 2026–2027 was

nominated by the TIPS Council during the 2026 ABA Mid-

year Meeting:

•Chair-Elect (one-year term, then will automatically

become Section Chair for 2027–2028): Lisa Dickinson,

Dickinson Law Firm, PLLC, Spokane, WA

•Vice-Chair (one-year term): David Becker, Dickinson

Wright, PLLC, Chicago, IL

Update on the Latest Programs and Events in

Your Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section

Honorary Martin J. Andrew

Award recipient Janet

Hummons (left), with Bruce

Corriveau (center) and

Sam Poteet (right). Photo

by Guysheena Gibson.

Robert B. McKay Law

Professor Award Recipient

Robert Burns (second from

right), with Marcy Hogan

Greer (left), Mary Burns

(second from left), and

Lorie Masters (right). Photo

by Guysheena Gibson.